Club may continue to use 225-acre racecourse land.
The Royal Western India Turf Club (RWITC), which runs the Mahalaxmi Racecourse, may continue using the 225-acre land until the state and civic body come to a decision in this regard.
This will not be the first time that the racecourse will continue to operate despite its lease having expired.
Moreover, the municipal administration on Friday, the last day of 99-year lease, preferred to play it safe and hinted that it is in no hurry to issue the RWITC an eviction notice.
Civic chief Sitaram Kunte pointed out the racecourse was still in operation when its lease had expired in 1994 and that the extension had been granted only in 2004.
Kunte also said that there are instances where organisations/individuals looking after schedule-W property do not return the plots even after their lease expires. Schedule W is a revenue code related to land that belongs to the state that it can ask any local governing agency to look after.
Kunte further said that the BMC is preparing its report regarding the racecourse, which will be submitted to the state government.
“A portion of the racecourse falls in the coastal regulation zone and the entire area is a heritage grade II (B) precinct. However, in the development plan, it is marked as a recreational space. We will need to check this aspect with the government and the heritage committee before deciding on it,” Kunte concluded.
Sena for park
Shiv Sena executive president Uddhav Thackeray made a strong pitch for the Mahalaxmi Racecourse to be developed as a garden instead of extendinga the lease of the RWITC.
Uddhav urged that the garden could be developed along the lines of Hyde Park in London.
“Mumbai’s identity cannot be a racecourse...This garden can,” he said, adding the racecourse could be shifted out of the city. He added that he was willing to meet chief minister Prithviraj Chavan to discuss the proposal.
Teachers for hsg
As the debate over the fate of the iconic Mahalaxmi Racecourse heightens, teachers’ bodies have now demanded that the land be utilised for the housing needs of teachers.
Uma Dhere, head of the teachers’ cell of north-west Congress says, “A large number of teachers stay in distant suburbs and travel long hours in stuffed local trains as they can’t afford a home in Mumbai. Thus, we demand that the state and the BMC use the racecourse land to provide housing to teachers.”
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